8
votes
My mead has no alcohol, but a lot of sediment
A few things come to mind:
Two weeks seem a bit short for fermenting out a mead - I would say it
can take 3-4 weeks. Your mead might still be tasting of honey and
water because there is not full ...
- 1,117
7
votes
Will accidentally shaking the mead lower the alcohol percentage?
No it wont. In fact it can break up yeast floculation and aid fermentation.
There is risk of oxidation if much alcohol has been produced when it was shook. But the c02 in headspace should minimize it....
- 18.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Aging mead in a wood mini barrel
There is a difference between new and use whiskey barrels. The reason that many homebrewers use used whiskey barrels is that a lot of the color from the charred wood inside the barrel has been taken ...
- 3,012
6
votes
Adding pectic enzyme to mead
If you are making mead solely from Honey, Water, Yeast, then you will not need to add anything else. No pectic enzyme required!
- 61
6
votes
Hibiscus mead changed color after adding yeast nutrient
Hibiscus contains hydroxycitric acid. I suspect it had a reaction to metal elements in the yeast nutrient.
The product looks like iron chloride in solution to me.
- 18.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Will this spoil?
Since it's on secondary, contamination risk is low, but for contaminants that have contact with the drink from now on. If the hair is there since the beginning of the fermentation, any possible ...
- 106
6
votes
I forgot to take my first Gravity reading
It isn't too much of a big deal. If you have the nutritional information from the honey you can calculate how much of it was pure sugar (mainly glucose in honey I believe). Then it is a simple case of ...
- 63
5
votes
Accepted
Mead Aging - Pasteurize or not?
1: I year is good. 5 years can often be better!
2: Yes, rack before ageing/conditioning. Once is enough, just to take the young mead off the precipitated yeast.
3: No
4: Neither is possibly better. ...
- 5,631
5
votes
Accepted
Is head space really necessary when bottling still mead?
Yes the head space is important. At the very least, you need the head space to cushion fluid volume expansion & contraction from temp change.
- 18.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Sealing flip-top bottles with wax
Wax dip gives an added layer of protection and look great too.
The most functional part of a wax dip is to prevent crimp caps from rust from environment. Especially for beverages that will age in the ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Should I avoid crystallized honey when making mead?
I'm not quite an expert on beer making, but I have made honey ales a few times and was a beekeeper for about 8 years, so I have some honey knowledge. The crystallized honey is no different from normal ...
- 66
5
votes
Accepted
Changing the PH of mead for fermenting necessary?
IMHO mead does not generally need any adjustment of pH levels to ferment correctly. It is generally fermented to have a similar level of alcohol to a strong wine - which will not generally support ...
- 5,631
5
votes
Accepted
Adding ginger to cider/cyser/mead
Ginger has its own microbes that will change fermentation. You will want to kill if you just want ginger flavor and aroma.
I would suggest making a ginger slurry then pastureize it by bringing it to ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
Doubling a mead recipe
Dry yeast packets are generally enough for 3-6 gallons. So with 1 gallon, about 1/4 of one pack is plenty for a commercial dried yeast such as Danstar Lallemand Nottingham Ale yeast. And you most ...
- 3,417
5
votes
Baloon air lock not inflating after second day
You may not have a perfect seal, so the gas is dissipating into the atmosphere. This is not a problem. The airlock serves only as a safety mechanism - it prevents buildup of gas, while also preventing ...
- 998
4
votes
What do you get if you distill mead?
In the US by law it can not be called brandy or whiskey or rum, or any other standard category. It is a "distilled spirit specialty", to which one can fix a "fanciful name" and a "description". We at ...
4
votes
Sulfur Smell from Fermentor
I got a little carried away here, so here's a quick summary.
TL;DR: Your yeast was probably either A) nutrient starved, B) Fermenting at too high of a temperature, or C) a combination of both. ...
- 629
4
votes
FG too low to read
Actually this shouldn't be too hard, provided you have an accurate scale. You can simply dissolve some white table sugar in your mead and compare the reading you get with the reading you would expect ...
- 6,417
4
votes
Safe way to backsweet a braggot with honey?
It's worth mentioning that it depends somewhat on how you plan to package the braggot.
If you're planning to bottle condition, I'm not sure it's possible to back-sweeten with something fermentable ...
- 1,900
4
votes
Accepted
Starting gravity reading when not all fermentables are dissolved
Yes it is still useful. You at least know where you are starting, as chthon states the second part of adding 50g to 1l of 1050 solution doesn't give 1100 solution.
Here is a great table that ...
- 7,018
4
votes
My mead wont stay carbonated!
If you are otherwise happy with the carbonation level of the mead, once it is capped and in the bottle your options are limited. Chilling it before opening, and avoiding agitating it are about your ...
- 608
4
votes
Neutralizing yeast prior to backsweetening
CO2 bubbles doesn't necessarily mean that fermentation is ongoing. Bubbles are not all released at once. For example, with red wine kits, instructions often mention to stir for several minutes to ...
- 4,806
4
votes
Why didn't my ABV reach the yeast's limits?
Patience. You rushed it. Give it 5 months. Then it will be done.
- 3,417
4
votes
How can I make maple bacon mead?
I would wait until you have at least 5% ABV before adding meat into the mix, at ~5% anything pathogenic should be killed off. Cooking the meat before had I would also recommend as rubbing beer/mead/...
- 7,018
4
votes
Balloon-airlock filling up fast
It’s normal, but if you have a very good balloon on there, it might not pass air quickly enough. You can loosen it a touch to let some air out from time to time, but I highly recommend you spend $4 ...
- 975
4
votes
Will this spoil?
I am 95% confident that everything will turn out well. I wouldn't worry about any of it. Mead is difficult to get wrong assuming the fermentation is moving along and if you just leave it alone. ...
- 3,417
4
votes
Accepted
How to calculate ABV% with step feeding
Calculate the recipe as if you were adding all the honey up front. Also take an original gravity reading with just a partial amount of honey present; if you divide the gravity points by the number of ...
- 3,417
3
votes
Accepted
Degassing and it's effects on yeast
I have tested this personally and have not been able to record any perceivable differences in SG readings. Sometimes degassing will invigorate a slow ferment but nothing more than a good stir would. I ...
- 511
3
votes
Accepted
Freshly Pitched Yeast at top of Must
Without knowing your recipe, I would say leave it alone. Probably just a matter of some particulates in the must weighing more than others. I think two things will happen: (1) the yeast will ...
- 366
3
votes
Pomagranate mead color
I believe the answer lies in your question.
Pomagranate itself gives a red juice color. Honey is yellowish, it can be light or dark. Grape tannin (the powder) is light brown. Add Red + Yellow + ...
- 4,806
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